Serving YouI hope you all are having a great Michigan summer! Serving the constituents of the 36th Senate District is very important to me, and I encourage you to contact me with any state issues. You may call toll-free at 1-855-347-8036 or email senjstamas@senate.michigan.gov. Also, please check out my Facebook page. Let me know if I can assist you in any way or if you have an idea to help move our state forward.

I was excited to help kick off the 54th Annual Alpenfest in Gaylord with 2017 Alpenfest Queen Giorgi Nowicki. The five day festival includes a parade, carnival, games, great food and live entertainment. It was great to see everyone, and I want to thank everyone involved in the festival for all they do to promote Northern Michigan. I also want to say congratulations to Abby Rajala on being named 2018 Alpenfest Queen!

Thunder Bay Community Health Service provides comprehensive primary health care services to over 14,000 patients a year throughout Northeast Michigan. In 2006, they opened the Onaway clinic offering family practice care, immunizations, family planning, radiology, counseling, acute care and a pharmacy. It was great to meet with Clinic Manager Leeza Price and talk with her about area health services.

TED director visits Northeast Michigan to highlight talent planMichigan will have more than 800,000 career openings to fill through 2024 in fields that are facing a talent shortage, such as manufacturing, information technology, health care and the professional trades.

I supported the “Marshall Plan for Talent” to help ensure our students can develop the skills they need to find a high-paying, in-demand technology job in one of these career fields.

I recently hosted the Department of Talent and Economic Development (TED) Director Roger Curtis in Alpena to meet with K-12, business and higher education leaders about the initiative. During his visit, we stopped by the Industrial Arts Institute in Onaway. It was great to talk with Executive Director Mark Dombroski and Operations Manager Tammi Ward about the institute’s success in providing students with the training and work ethic to meet the workforce needs of a growing economy.

Senate Bills 941 and 942 invest $100 million in scholarships, education programs, workforce development and teacher support through partnerships with schools and businesses.

The initiative will expand current efforts to close the talent gap and better prepare our high school students for career opportunities, college or both.

Hunters: Apply for fall turkey hunting and antlerless deer licensesWhile spring is the traditional time to hunt wild turkey, some areas in Michigan are open to fall turkey hunting. The fall turkey license application period runs until Aug. 1. For more information and to buy an application online, visit www.michigan.gov/turkey.

In addition, the antlerless deer license application period runs from July 15 to Aug. 15. For more details and to buy an application online, visit www.michigan.gov/deer.

Pet-friendly parksMany families enjoy time together in the great outdoors, including those furry family members!

Pets are welcome on a six-foot leash in Michigan state parks, park campgrounds, state forests and the majority of trails. In addition, pet-friendly lodging is available at several state parks. A number of parks offer sections of pet-friendly shorelines as well, although pets must be kept on a six-foot leash even if they are in the water.

THE 36TH DISTRICT

The 36th Senate District is made up of 10 counties, which includes: Presque Isle, Otsego, Montmorency, Alpena, Oscoda, Alcona, Iosco, Arenac, Gladwin and Midland counties.

Thank you for subscribing to my electronic newsletter! I am honored to represent you in the 36th Senate District of Michigan. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Please feel free to forward this on to others who may be interested in receiving the 36th District E-news. You may sign up for it also at my website or via Facebook.